I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to electronics, and more specifically to techniques for performing graphics processing.
II. Background
Graphics processing units (GPUs) are specialized hardware units used to render 2-dimensional (2-D) or 3-dimensional (3-D) images for various applications such as video games, graphics, computer-aided design (CAD), simulation and visualization tools, imaging, etc. The process to render a 2-D drawing typically includes a series of stages that is specific to 2-D graphics. The processing for these 2-D graphics stages may be computationally intensive. A 2-D GPU may be designed and used to perform computationally intensive 2-D processing in hardware. The use of the 2-D GPU may shorten rendering time for 2-D drawings and improve overall performance.
Similarly, the process to render a 3-D image typically includes a series of stages that is specific to 3-D graphics. The processing for these 3-D graphics stages may also be computationally intensive. A 3-D GPU may be designed and used to perform computationally intensive 3-D processing in hardware. The use of the 3-D GPU may shorten rendering time for 3-D images and improve overall performance.
An electronics device may support only 2-D graphics and may utilize a 2-D GPU for 2-D graphics acceleration. An electronics device may also support only 3-D graphics and may utilize a 3-D GPU for 3-D graphics acceleration. For an electronics device that supports both 2-D and 3-D graphics, it is desirable to achieve good performance for both 2-D and 3-D graphics with as little hardware as possible in order to reduce cost and power consumption.